What should I look f

[93CutlassSupreme]

What should I look for in a Cutlass?

Hello, I am a new member here.

I am no stranger to GM products, currently owning a '93 Cutlass Supreme, and a '97 Sunfire, and owning a '05 Colorado and a '88 Cutlass Supreme in the past.

In the near future when I am in a better financial suitation, I would like to buy a mid-80's Cutlass Supreme. My late Grandfather owned a '84 light blue coupe, and I like the look better of the years with sealed-beam headlights vs composite units. I'd like a 442 or a Hurst, but I'd consider any Cutlass with a rust-free, straight body.


So, what should I look for in purchasing one? What years are best? How did the 307 change over time? Are certain years better than others? How hard is a 700R4 swap?


Thanks.

 

[dragginwagon406]

Nice Flowmaster sound from a 6-cyl. If you like the 1-piece head light versions, these are '87's. Depending on what your goals are, any 78-87 G body car is an excellent foundation for solid street machine/drag car. These car are prone to rusting out in a few areas: inspect the frame behind the rear tires, bottom of the doors and floor boards. Also, sometimes the vinal tops can hide some surprises.

Best luck.

 

[85_SS]

Yes, only 87/88 had the composite headlights, so I believe you will want an 81-86. Only minor changes in that time frame is the tail lights (up to 83 they were split down the middle), and various different front grill patterns throughout the years. I'm not to up on the 307's, as 305's are more common in Canada, but www.oldspower.com is a good resourse for that info. A 700-R4 swap is pretty simple (shorten driveshaft 3" I believe and relocate crossmember), but offers little to no advantage over a 200-4R. Remember the fasted car of its time (GNX) ran a 200-4R and several TR's are running in th 9s with them properly built.

Problem areas are already listed above, and just add to that the quarters in the upper wheel well area, and trunk floors are a good spot to check as well. New aftermarket frame rails are available if you want to tackle that.

 

[betsy84]

being from Toronto im feeling the rust situation. some other areas to check is under the mirrors, where the rear bumper wraps around the side and holds the sidemarkers, it can rust underneath there, but if u look up underneath u can see upside the area of the rear lower quarter im talking about. also my trunk gets some water in it because i got some little hole in my wheelwell rusted thru i think, so watch there and where the spare sits in the right side. and the trunk lid itself, if ur from a northern area and do buy one i suggest taking off the bottom trim piece cuz water pools up n causes the rust, even on the underside of the lid. anyways other than those areas check the tops of the front and rear bumpers ahah those get reallllllly rusty.. jokes, they are plastic, but they can ripple. so watch that too. as far as body goes thats what ive noticed round here. hope i helped.

 

[rustyfloors]

For sale

check this thread out http://www.gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=110 I was going to build it myself but, the wife said NO because I have a cj7 and it takes alot of my time & money so she said it had to go! It's been garage kept no rust but paint is laquer checked

 

[86Cutlass350]

Re: What should I look for in a Cutlass?

Hello, I am a new member here.

I am no stranger to GM products, currently owning a '93 Cutlass Supreme, and a '97 Sunfire, and owning a '05 Colorado and a '88 Cutlass Supreme in the past.

In the near future when I am in a better financial suitation, I would like to buy a mid-80's Cutlass Supreme. My late Grandfather owned a '84 light blue coupe, and I like the look better of the years with sealed-beam headlights vs composite units. I'd like a 442 or a Hurst, but I'd consider any Cutlass with a rust-free, straight body.


So, what should I look for in purchasing one? What years are best? How did the 307 change over time? Are certain years better than others? How hard is a 700R4 swap?


Thanks.

I'm pretty sure you want the pre-86 307s with 5A heads, for higher compression and flow. If you're concerned about performance, I'd think any of them would be fine, as you won't want to keep the stock exhaust or cam. So you could just swap the heads from an older model as well if you've got a later model 307 with the 7A heads.

As far as the 700 swap, it's not hard, but as stated, unless you really want to, it would be better to go with a TH-2004R. The 1st gear in a 700 will give you much better off the line performance with the stock 307 and stock gears, as it's a 3.06 compared to the 2.74 (I think) in a 200. But, if you plan on doing the work for a transmission swap in the first place, I imagine you'll be game for swapping the rear axle and building your motor. And after your motor is built well, the 1st gear in a 700 only produces traction problems, especially with steep axle gears. If you can get it to hook, you'll have great 60' times, but it's still kind of a pain. That, and the 1-2 ratios in a 700 are pretty wide apart. Especially considering that you're building an SBO, I'd opt to stay with the 2004R. And if you've got a TH-200C, I'd swap to a TH-2004R instead of a 700.

 

[Arok]

I'm no expert but it's my understanding that in stock configurations the 700r4 is better than the 2004r, but the 2004r has more potential if you're going to beef it up. Somethign about oil passages weakening a shaft in the 700R4 that only causes problems in VERY high HP cars.

 

[86Cutlass350]

I'm no expert but it's my understanding that in stock configurations the 700r4 is better than the 2004r, but the 2004r has more potential if you're going to beef it up. Somethign about oil passages weakening a shaft in the 700R4 that only causes problems in VERY high HP cars.

As stated, the 700 has excellent off the line pull because of how steep first is. And this will make a pretty noticeable difference with most stock G-body gears (as they are usually horrible). But the ratios are a lot closer in the 200, like how the ratios in a TH-350 are closer than a 700. If you upgrade to 3.73s or bigger you'll definitely want a bigger first gear unless you're running a high duration camshaft, and take the car 5500 rpms+.

The 700 is better for around town driving, as it will have a lot of punch to first gear. But for drag racing purposes, the 200 is better because of the ratios being closer, unless you're running a mild motor with stock gears.

This is probably the easiest way to explain it. You have a total ratio between your transmission gear and axle, that basically determines how much torque is going to the wheels. You simply multiply the transmission ratio times the axle ratio.

Stockish axle

700- 3.06 first x 2.73 axle = 8.35 total
200- 2.74 first x 2.73 axle = 7.48 total

As you can see, with stock gears, the 700 is going to be a lot better for off the line and street performance. In fact:

TH350 - 2.52 first x 3.42 axle = 8.62 total

So, as you can see, the 700 with 2.73s will have close the same off the line performance as a turbo 350 with much better axle gears.

However, here is where things get tricky.

Street/Strip axle

700- 3.06 x 3.73s = 11.41
200- 2.74 x 3.73s = 10.02

To compare just how steep 11.41 is:

TH350 - 2.52 x 4.56s = 11.49

Even with TH-350s, most people have to use drag radials or slicks with 4.56s out back. But, if you opt with the 200 at this point:

TH350 - 2.52 x 4.11s = 10.35
200 - 2.74 x 3.73s = 10.02

You have a first gear that will be a little less steeper than a typical th-350 car with 4.11s and have less traction issues, and still have better gear to gear ratios than the 700 and still have overdrive, unlike the th-350.

So really, if you plan on getting fairly serious with the build and throwing 3.73s and a stall into the mix, the TH-200R4 is the most balanced transmission. It has a first gear that's better than the 350, but it's not too steep like the 700. It has close ratios unlike the 700, and has an overdrive, unlike the 350. That, and it can be built better and won't require an adapter plate to bolt up to an SBO.

 

[DrRansom442]

maybe I missed it but SBO + 700-r4 will require the use of a spacer, I really would recomend against this.....get a 200-4r have it rebuilt with a "reprogram kit" and transmission cooler it will hold up better then a 700-r4. Plus most 200-4rs are dual bolt pattern and will fit B-O-P and generic brand (sorry Chevy) engines too

 

[1986 Cutlass Supreme]

Would you like to own something like this?